Politics and Elections

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by Karen DeWitt on

It’s been twenty years since the governor and legislature in New York received a pay raise. But that might be changing in January. A panel formed to determine future pay for lawmakers is holding hearings and will make a recommendation by December 10th.

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by Karen DeWitt on

The state’s mayors are moving away from a state aid program for localities that they say has not been well funded in recent years, and are trying a new way to get the governor’s and the legislature’s attention as the 2019 state budget season approaches.

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by Karen DeWitt on

Senator GOP Leader John Flanagan was re-elected as the leader of the Republicans in that chamber on Friday afternoon, surviving a challenge to his leadership from upstate Senator Cathy Young of Olean. But, come January, he’ll be in charge of the minority party, after Democrats took control of the Senate for only the third time in the last century.

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by Karen DeWitt on

Progressive-leaning groups say now that more Democrats have been elected to the State Senate, they’ll hold their feet to the fire in January to ensure that measures like bail reform and legalizing marijuana are swiftly enacted into law.

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by Karen DeWitt on

One of the first items expected to be voted on when the state legislature convenes for the 2019 session is the Reproductive Health Act. It would codify the abortion rights in the landmark 1973 US Supreme Court decision Roe v Wade into New York State law.

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by Matt Ryan on

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by Karen DeWitt on

Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart –Cousins, who will become the first woman and African American woman to lead the New York State Senate come January, says she hopes to take action quickly on long-stalled measures in the Senate. She predicts that by the 2020 Presidential election, New Yorker s will finally have early voting.